Palm Beach County residents were asked:
Please tell us about an important moment in your life that would help someone understand what it’s like living in your neighborhood.
The stories and micro-narratives they submitted (as part of the We Are Here SenseMaker project) are listed below. Click ZOOM IN to learn more about the community member and how they interpreted their submission. NOTE: Some stories were partially transcribed by volunteers who shortened the narratives and referred to the storytellers in the third person (e.g., “her experience was” instead of “my experience was”).
My parents were migrant workers and we lived in Okeechobee center Projects. Ive been out here 47 years but moved to NY in 1974. Then moved back t Belle Glade, then I met my husband and now Ive been here for 47 years now. I was a big family everyone showed love. Then my husband died 2016 and I moved into Quiet waters. I remember when there was no Wendy’s, McDonalds or anything here. Just a hospital and one lane road. Now there’s everything. I started work in corn field 1976 and in 1979 I started driving tractors, then my sister got me a custodial job at a school for 5 years. I had a daughter so then I worked for the state driving a school bus, then I got disabled after 17 years. If I had stayed in the corn fields I wouldn’t be here today. You know when we were living in the projects there were kid shelters, and then they were jus stick houses, and then they had labor homes (duplexes kinda), then they built brick projects houses (for rent). Then they threw us out because of my 18 yea r old son. We had a family reunion from the projects, saw children we hadn’t seen in 40 years. We’re having another one next year. We came up a hard way, but we made it.
Getting off drugs changed my life. I was on drugs bad and i had to realize who i was. I went to rehab to get my life together and things been good ever sense.
Delray Beach is a comma that is evolving it wasn’t as safe as it is now back in the days also wassants clean and everyone that lived in Delray pitched together to help the comm it as much fun it is now in Delray.
From the past to right now the family values have changed. Back then the community raised us. People used to watch the kids. Athletics have decreased.
Well the neighborhood I lived in was kind of small and my little sister who has special needs went missing only for a few hours. She was gone for about 3-4 hours she was 13 at the time. I went around my entire neighborhood looking for my sister with my mother. After, knocking door to door about 10 members of my community decide to help me and my mom search for my sister. One of the neighbors that was helping us search for her found here at a near by park.
There was a bad car accident in Boynton were the driver died. People were so supportive of the family of the person who passed. My community is so nice.